Patience
by PunkPinkPower
Summary: Sequel to Here In Your Arms. Shane realizes nothing’s changed, and he couldn’t be happier about it.


_AN: Oh, wow. This is my last post of 2007! What an interesting year it's been, huh? I'm glad to finally be done with my Shane/Dustin one shot series, and I hope you enjoy the ending. As per usual, don't forget to feed the author on your way out. The next time you hear from me, it'll be 2008!_

**Patience**

Watching Dustin sleep was quite possibly one of his favorite activities. Shane thought, privately, that it should be a sport. He could win 1st place, and he was sure no one would enjoy it as much as he would.

Dustin teased him about it constantly. He hated waking up to find Shane staring at him. Said it gave him the creeps.

But Shane couldn't help himself. He was in love, and people in love can not be held responsible for their actions.

Dustin's nose twitched, and Shane held still, just in case. He didn't wake up, and so Shane returned to gazing at his perfect face and stroking his soft hair.

Dustin was easy to look at. He was so innocent, even when he wasn't sleeping. Dustin just had that look about him that made you think he could do no wrong. It was endearing. And somehow strangely erotic in bed.

Shane grinned, and tried not to giggle. He always felt this way, lying here with Dustin. It was like he couldn't contain his own joy at the sight of him. It was an intense feeling.

Sometimes it scared him. His attachment to Dustin was incredibly strong, and while others often thought Dustin was the dependant one in their relationship, Shane thought it was the other way around. Dustin would be all right without him. Shane wasn't sure he could breathe without Dustin these days.

It was a little unnerving.

And the thought of loosing Dustin? Whether it was to someone else or worse, he didn't think he could bear it. Lying here now, tangled in his lovers arms, it was hard to imagine ever being without him again.

The giddy feeling subsided a bit as he thought about that. With what they did, nothing was certain. Dustin was here now, but he could be gone tomorrow. Shane could be gone tomorrow. Skyla had taught him that.

He supposed it was what made him reluctant to admit his feelings to Dustin's face. As soon as Dustin knew how he felt everything would be solidified. There would be absolutely no going back.

But then, there never was any going back. He'd known that the day he first kissed him. So what made him nervous about _saying_ how he felt?

Dustin knew how he felt. Shane hoped he did. Yeah, he hadn't exactly told him straight out, but Dustin had to know. Right? They were best friends, boyfriends, lovers.

Dustin had to know how much Shane loved him.

Of course, it probably wouldn't hurt to mention it. Man, how was he supposed to do that? Maybe Dustin wouldn't care how he did it. Girls cared about that kind of thing. Dustin wasn't a girl. Well, not exactly.

Shane grinned again as he imagined Dustin's reaction to being called a girl.

Dustin stirred and twisted his head into an awkward position. Shane frowned and tried to get his arm underneath Dustin's neck so he wouldn't wake up with a kink in it. He used his free arm to pull the covers tighter around them.

Love was a funny emotion, Shane decided, looking at his air-headed boyfriend. It was completely irrational, totally unpredictable, happened in the blink of an eye, found you only when you weren't looking for it, and was strangely easy to mistake for loathing.

Shane didn't have a lot of experience with love. But from what he'd seen, it was a highly desirable emotion. It drove people crazy, killed people who'd lost it, and for the people who were lucky enough to find it… well. It could make them indisputably happy, or it could destroy them.

Funny emotion, indeed.

"Were you watching me again?" Dustin's sleepy voice inquired below him. Shane stilled his movements in stroking Dustin's hair and pretended to be asleep. "Too late."

Shane grinned. "Oh, darn." He leaned around to kiss Dustin, tangling his fingers in his curly hair and pressing against him.

"Good morning to you, too." Dustin teased as Shane pulled away. He reached up to rub the sleep out of his eyes and Shane kissed his forehead before dropping back down onto his pillow. "Time s'it?"

Shane glanced over at the bedside table. "Close to 7."

Dustin sighed contentedly and snuggled happily back into Shane's side. "Perfect. Lots of time to snooze."

Shane grinned and prodded his sleepy boyfriend gently. "We're supposed to be at ops by 8." Dustin mumbled something and didn't move. "And if we're both going to shower, and eat breakfast…"

Dustin grumbled. "Shower together, eat on the way. Plenty of time."

Shane wasn't sure showering together was going to save them anymore time than showering separately. Dustin had an elaborate enough hygiene ritual without Shane there to distract him, and Shane was most certainly going to distract him.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to rouse Dustin before he had to. He felt himself drifting off again as the alarm went off, and he reached over to turn it off.

"It's time to get up, sleepy head." Shane whispered in Dustin's ear and Dustin reached up to swat him like he was an annoying insect.

Annoyed, Shane grabbed his hand and rolled on top of him, promptly waking his lover up. "Well if that isn't the best damn way to be woken up I don't know what is," Dustin teased, his legs reaching up to wrap around Shane's waist.

"Oh, no!" Shane yelled, and he squirmed out of Dustin's grasp. "We have time for a shower or a quickie." He told him sternly. "Take your pick."

Dustin just looked at him, sleepy grin in place. "Dude, you totally know what I'm going to say."

And Dustin reached up and tugged him back down and kissed him, and it was all Shane could do to kiss him back. He wanted to tell him he loved him. He wanted to just say it, but he didn't want to ruin the perfect moment of waking up together like this, and he wasn't sure what would happen if he did. They were already going to be late enough.

So Shane didn't tell him, and for three days he waited, trying to find the right moment. But the right moment never came. Shane was beginning to rethink his decision to tell Dustin that he loved him, because if he couldn't even find a moment beautiful enough to do it, how right could it be?

He trained with him like usual, teased him with their friends like usual, and kissed him in-between it all like usual, every moment thinking that he loved Dustin, and wanting to tell him but never bringing himself to do it.

It was beginning to drive him crazy.

They were walking home from the skateboard park when Shane realized he was never going to tell him. He wasn't waiting for the right moment and he wasn't putting it off until he could make the right moment… he was just being a coward.

He was afraid that Dustin didn't love him, and why that was hitting him now he couldn't understand, but he stopped walking, and Dustin stopped ahead of him when he realized Shane was no longer beside him.

"You okay, dude?" Dustin asked, coming towards him.

Shane bit his lip, unable to respond, but knowing he had to. Because Dustin needed to know, and he needed Dustin to know and it was going to drive him mad if he didn't say it soon.

So he opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He tried again, and nothing happened. He spun around, muttering to himself.

"Why can't I do this?" He asked the air around him, smacking his palm against his face.

"Shane?" Dustin asked from behind him. "You're scaring me."

Shane turned around again, and this time, when he opened his mouth, something came out. "I've been wanting to tell you that I love you for a while, and I couldn't find a way to do it, and then I realized that I'm just afraid to do it because I might lose you and after everything that's happened to us now, I don't think I could live through that and saying it makes it so final and I just…" Shane paused, glancing at Dustin's grinning face. "Well, I think I love you."

Dustin just laughed, reaching over to place his hand on Shane's shoulder. "I love you too, you dork."

Dustin kissed him, and Shane kissed him back, and that was the end of it. Dustin grabbed his hand and started yanking him home, and Shane followed.

As they walked, Shane couldn't help grinning over at his boyfriend. "Nothings really changed between us, has it?"

Dustin's response was instantaneous. "Nope. It never will."


End file.
